For 11 months of the year, Tim LeBel is Mars Wrigley's president of sales. The National Retail Federation predicts consumers will spend $3.6 billion on Halloween candy this year, up from $3.1 billion last year, even as many shoppers pull back spending elsewhere. Unlike Hershey, family-owned Mars doesn't report its financial results, but disclosed nearly $45 billion in annual revenue in 2021. With the stakes so high for Halloween, Mars starts planning for the holiday two years in advance. "A lot of those things take two years to develop and execute to bring to market," LeBel told CNBC.

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Persons: Tim LeBel, Mars, Ferrero, Mondelez, …, Hershey, Michele Buck, LeBel Organizations: Mars, Hershey, National Retail Federation, CNBC